Hofburg & Schonbrunn Palaces

During our trip to Vienna, we spent quite a substantial amount of time visiting the Hofburg Imperial Palace and Schonbrunn Palace (Schloss Schonbrunn in German).


Hofburg has housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasties. It was the Habsburg's winter residence. The earliest part of the building was built in the 13th century and has been extended many times under different rulers over the course of history. In the photo above, the dome of Michaelertrakt is framed by the buildings along Kohlmarkt street at Michaelerplatz.

The extensive Hofburg Imperial Palace includes among others the Amalienhof, Imperial Chancellery, Burgkepelle, Naturhistorisches and Kunsthistorisches Musuems, Prunksaal and Spanish Riding School.


Located at Michaelerplatz at the eastern end of Hofburg, Michaelerkirche or St. Michael's Church is a fine Romanesque building in Vienna.


There are many horse-drawn hackney carriages plying the cobblestone streets of Vienna old town. It's quite a beautiful sight but the horses could get nasty at times - they left trails of shit, real shits all along the streets and it could be very smelly! ;)


One of the statues at the facade of Michaelertrakt. I think his tummy could match mine. ;)


That's the courtyard of In der Burg, Amalienhof at the back and the Imperial Chancellery Wing to the right. The Imperial Chancellery was the office of chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire and was later converted into the presidential suites of the emperor family. The famous Emperor Franz Joseph once occupied here as well.



Neue Burg, the new castle is nestled between the two beautiful gardens of Volksgarten and Burggarten, housed the historic arms and armour collection, old musical instruments, high-quality finds from Ephesus in Turkey and the Greek island of Samothrace, etc.


The statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy is standing majestically in front of Neue Burg.


Naturhistorisches and Kunsthistorisches Musuems which houses the precious artifacts and artworks are located right across the Ringstrasse road. There are too many musuems in Vienna and we could afford to visit all of them. Furthermore, some are quite boring though. We skipped these. :p


After Hofburg, we headed next to Schonbrunn Palace which is located about 8km from the city center. Schonbrunn is again another extensive royal residence which has served the Habsburg dynasties and was the summer residence of Habsburg. The palace and the surrounding gardens have been listed under the Unesco World Heritage Site for its historical and cultural significance.


We took the self-guided tour to enter the royal residence and to see what's it like to live in a palace. We visited 22 of the state rooms, strolling through the west wing of the palace which houses the apartments of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth, as well as the magnificent ceremonial rooms in the central part of the palace.




This was our first time entering a palace building. The interior decorations, the rooms layout, the sculptures and paintings, the intricately crafted furniture, the tableware and cutleries, the chandeliers, etc are unbelievably gorgeous. They are so delicate and impressive. I left the palace speechless. ;)


The sculpted gardens are really huge in its ancient layout and glory. Scores of people relaxed and strolled around the gardens. We rested at one of the benches too. :)